What is on the bedside table: Favourite books

[Lagerlover]

"Humble Pie"

- piss funny, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[jimandr]

I haven't posted in this thread for a good while, mainly because I prefer to talk about books I have liked, rather than about books I didn't like. The strike rate has been pretty poor in recent times.

Fortunately, Alistair Reynolds came to the rescue. I'm too lazy to go back through the thread to see whether I said anything about The Prefect, but its sequel, Elysium Fire is my latest triumph.

It is essential to have read The Prefect first, as it describes the world and characters of this one, but I really enjoyed Elysium Fire. Reynolds has also issued two sequels to Blue Remembered Earth (which I do recall mentioning at an earlier time) which are available in my local library, so I'll get into those at some point.

Brief mentions of other books that didn't thrill me so much follow.

The Ancillary Trilogy by Ann Leckie won all the critics awards in 2014. While I can see why they won, it is a bit like reading Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. You know it has literary merit, but it just moves so slowly that it is easy to put down and hard to pick up again.

Also easy to put down and hard to pick up again was The Uplift War, by David Brin. Eventually the effort was semi-worthwhile, but it is a frustrating end to the Uplift Trilogy, because it doesn't address the cliff-hanger ending of the previous volume.

I'm currently struggling through the first book of a second Uplift Trilogy, Brightness Reef. It is even worse, in that Brin is far more interested in creating and describing alien societies than in telling a story. There are another two books following this one. I'm not sure I'm going to finish this, particularly with the Reynolds books promising a much more enjoyable reading experience.

[AndyP]

I occasionally venture into the SF genre, Jim, but it is usually a brief stay.

As I mentioned in my last post, I did continue with Robin Hobb, finishing the Rain Wild series, then into The Fitz and the Fool series. I really did like her style of writing, so it was disappointing to finish the books from those worlds. I should do a search on what authors are recommended as similar, although there are other books of hers that I can try, or her alias author, which she uses to write in a different style.

There have been other standalone books, but I'm currently struggling through the original Legend of Drizzt trilogy, The Icewind Dale Trilogy. It was recommended much earlier in this thread, so I gave the whole trilogy a go, but I would have stopped after one book, if that is all I had have purchased. To me it seems targeted at young adults, with a simplistic storyline, and one dimensional characters, and indestructible good guys.

While I'm bagging books, I may as well have a crack at Raymond Feist's Jimmy and the Crawler book. It was written with the popular character, Jimmy the Hand, but after series before it and after it had been written. As a result, it seems like Feist makes a half-arsed effort to make it fit into the timeline, and explain some history from the latter series, that doesn't really need a flimsy backstory.

I'm not sure what to read next. There are a lot of authors that are still in the middle of series, so I am awaiting finales to come out. I have a list of recommendations to look at, but maybe it is safer to go with a author that I have known before. I feel burnt by the Drizzt experiment.

[chappy1970]

Ploughing through Trent Dalton's "Boy Swallows Universe". Really enjoyable read, based almost exclusively in the suburbs of Brisbane.

a few thumbs up from me

[henno]

Ploughing through Trent Dalton's "Boy Swallows Universe". Really enjoyable read, based almost exclusively in the suburbs of Brisbane.

a few thumbs up from me

Did some swift googling and this sounds right up my alley. Did you ever read Hugh Lunn's Over The Top With Jim?

[chappy1970]

No I haven't Henno.

This book will strike a cord with growing up in the 70's in Brissy

[henno]

The same for Hugh Lunn's book. It was almost compulsory reading in the 90's if you were from Brisbane and definitely compulsory reading if you were a teenage wannabe journalist like me.

[chappy1970]

You would love this book mate

[henno]

You would love this book mate

16 bucks at Big W? Consider me on board.

[davepuppies]

"Tranceformations" - a book on Conscious Hypnosis and subjective behavioural change....... Riveting to none i am sure!

[chappy1970]

Getting through a new novel by an Australian Author "Christian White" called Nowhere Child. Another cracker based in Melbourne and the US.

Recommended

[Slothman]

I'm back in Robin Hobb's world now finishing the fourth book in the Rain Wild Chronicles. I'll probably move straight on to her next series, The Fitz and the Fool​, after that, with maybe a one book break in between.

Been a while since I checked in. I finished the whole collection of Robin Hobb...I must say the way the stories from all series intertwine in the last Trilogy is quite amazing. Several times I found myself going "oh wholly shit, that is XYZ from The Mad Ship series"....then it puts that in a different light. The way all of the trilogies come together over the course of the last trilogy was unexpected and I really enjoyed it.

Honestly, the last few pages of Assassin's Fate had me sitting on the shitter not wanting to finish. It was a great series of books that. I usually re read a lot of books through the year to pick up on things, this is a definite candidate with the way it all weaves through....but honestly, I am happy with how it resolved and enjoyed the ride. This might be one of the few "read it once and leave it" things I have on my shelves.

Cannot recommend this Author more.

Been looking for something to fill the spot, reading a few sitting around. Started a new Sci Fi series with the main character "Ian Cormac".....not completely sold on it yet.

[AndyP]

I'll add my recommendation again for Hobb. Really good character writing.

I finished the Icewind Dale Trilogy in the Legend of Drizzt. It got better, but I won't bother going back to that world for more.

After the death of Ursula K LeGuin, I decided to check out her books, in particular the Earthsea Cycle. As I started reading, it seemed vaguely familiar. I'm not completely sure, but I think I may have read this in high school, and really enjoyed it; I've always wanted to find it again. Anyway, it may be a little bit more teen fantasy than adult, but it is still well written with a good story. I'm half way through the third book at the moment.

The other book that I am currently reading is Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984. The book details all of the studio sessions that he had during this period. It sounds a bit boring, and I thought that it might be a bit droll too, but it is really interesting reading. It is amazing how much good music that this guy was producing in this period, not just for himself but for his other projects, and other artists.

[BUSHY]

I’ve been listening to a really great podcast and there was a book review on there of “The Gulag Archipelago” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Have only just started it but WOW.... its incredibly full on but it’s written really well.

[WBennett]

I’ve been listening to a really great podcast and there was a book review on there of “The Gulag Archipelago” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Have only just started it but WOW.... its incredibly full on but it’s written really well.

Can you send me the details. I was listening to a discussion on his work on the World Service the other night.

[BUSHY]

Can you send me the details. I was listening to a discussion on his work on the World Service the other night.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the...35008712?mt=11

I’d heard about it on a Jocko Willink podcast with Jordan Petersen, Jocko then follows it up in his next podcast discussing and reciting the book.

Really horrendous stuff, there’s a part where 6 peasant farmers are executed for returning to a field after the wheat was harvested to collect some hay for their animals.

[AndyP]

Sounds depressing.

I finished the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K LeGuin, which was six books in the end. I liked her style of writing. There wasn't a huge amount of story to them, and it was more about character interaction; I've enjoyed reading that sort of thing more lately.

I have also just finished reading the first fantasy series by N K Jemisin, The Inheritence Series. It's about a world where humans, gods, and godlings (children of gods) interact, with three separate stories for each book in the trilogy, rather than finishing books with a cliffhanger. You could always just read the first, and not worry about the rest, if it wasn't your thing. It's pretty good, but at times it seems to get a little lost. I've read that her later series are better, but I might find another new author to look at for now.

[Yossarian]

It is depressing and one of the reasons people should lambast guys like dutton when he says parliament should go away!

[Stuart]

I finished the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K LeGuin, which was six books in the end. I liked her style of writing. There wasn't a huge amount of story to them, and it was more about character interaction; I've enjoyed reading that sort of thing more lately.

I have also just finished reading the first fantasy series by N K Jemisin, The Inheritence Series. It's about a world where humans, gods, and godlings (children of gods) interact, with three separate stories for each book in the trilogy, rather than finishing books with a cliffhanger. You could always just read the first, and not worry about the rest, if it wasn't your thing. It's pretty good, but at times it seems to get a little lost. I've read that her later series are better, but I might find another new author to look at for now.

Loved the Earthsea trilogy back in highschool, but haven't ever gotten around to reading the other three that were subsequently released. Probably should look at doing so. In terms of Jemisin, I have also found her stuff to be a bit hit and miss. The critics adore and rave over it, but I have never been really blown away.

I just finished a re-read of the First Law trilogy, and have started Friendly Fire, which is the second book in the First Watch series by Dale Lucas. Simple but fun stuff.

[BUSHY]

It is depressing and one of the reasons people should lambast guys like dutton when he says parliament should go away!

Hardly comparable.

[Yossarian]

I didn't say it was.

[AndyP]

Loved the Earthsea trilogy back in highschool, but haven't ever gotten around to reading the other three that were subsequently released. Probably should look at doing so.

One of them is more of a collection of short stories.

I just finished a re-read of the First Law trilogy, and have started Friendly Fire, which is the second book in the First Watch series by Dale Lucas. Simple but fun stuff.

The First Law trilogy sounds interesting. I'll add it to my Goodread's Want to Read list.

After my last post, I decided to start on Brett Week's five book Lightbringer series, which is due to be finished later this year, so I shouldn't have to wait long, if at all, to finish it off. I liked his Night Angel series, and I was waiting for this to be finished before giving it a go.

[Stuart]

Love the Night Angel series, but struggled to get into Lightbringer. Not sure why, as many others report the exact opposite.

The First Law series is a good one - the old fantasy cliched novels of Eddings and Feist (which I loved growing up) have been replaced with darker and less 'black and white' good versus evil.

A few other author suggestions (that you may have already tried):

- Mark Lawrence
- Anthony Ryan
- Django Wexler
- Michael Sullivan
- Sebastian de Castell
- Brian McCellan
- Luke Scull
- Nicholas Eames

Also, if you are a fan of the Dresden urban fantasy series, make sure you check out Ben Aaronovitch. Not quite as good as Jim Butcher, but pretty close. Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid series was also really good to begin with, but lost its way a bit towards the end.

[AndyP]

A few other author suggestions (that you may have already tried):

- Mark Lawrence
- Anthony Ryan
- Django Wexler
- Michael Sullivan
- Sebastian de Castell
- Brian McCellan
- Luke Scull
- Nicholas Eames

Also, if you are a fan of the Dresden urban fantasy series, make sure you check out Ben Aaronovitch. Not quite as good as Jim Butcher, but pretty close. Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid series was also really good to begin with, but lost its way a bit towards the end.

I haven't read any of those authors.

I don't get through too many books in a year, as I generally only read just before sleep, or while travelling. I got through 19 books last year, according to Goodreads, but a couple of those were travel guides.

[chappy1970]

Just finishing up a book called 'Los Alamos', with a back story relating to the Manhattan Project, it's a good read. Bit of sluething, bit of slap and tickle, bit of espoinage.